This master thesis deals with the topic of marriage and family in the fourth century. The paper explores what the situation was in the mentioned century and thus highlights the perpetual value of this basic human community. Historical moments from the beginning of the first Church, in which it was not favourably looked upon the positive values of marriage and family, are being emphasized, which also serves to indicate that throughout the whole history this issue has been undergoing certain oscillations. In this paper it is asserted, and the thesis is established that marriage and family for the Church and its members have always had a positive value by associating it with the God's idea of it.
The first chapter focuses on virginity as the fourth-century church fathers accentuated the life as a virgin. This is important since this paper brings into mutual relation virginity and marriage, i.e. facilitates the evaluation of the one and the other in the light of what the Church fathers wrote and proclaimed.
The second chapter examines marriage and family as seen by the church fathers, whereby a special emphasis is put on how family and marital life are perceived by St. Ambrose and St. Gregory of Nyssa. It presents a research approach to the values of virginity, marriage and family, since the life as a virginis constantly being compared with the married life in their works.
The third chapter briefly deals with marriage and family in the present time, outlines their essential characteristics, thus discussing some problems that arise in marriage and family life. In order to get an insight into this issue, the apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio, which offers a kind of response to the present-day situation.